The present invention relates to a connector, in particular, to a connector having a socket contact to be electrically connected to a counter-connector contact having a plate shape.
The socket contact of a connector of this type has a spring contact point capable of elastic displacement. At the time of engagement of connectors, a counter-connector contact is inserted into the socket contact relatively along a fitting plane and comes into contact with the spring contact point of the socket contact, while elastically shifting the spring contact point. Due to the elastic force generated at the spring contact point at this time, the socket contact is electrically connected to the counter-connector contact.
However, in a case where insertion position is improper, such as when the counter-connector contact is inserted off the fitting plane or inserted obliquely with respect to the fitting plane, the spring contact point of the socket contact possibly shifts beyond its elastic limit so as to cause plastic deformation of a spring piece on which the spring contact point is formed, or sufficient contact pressure cannot possibly be given between the counter-connector contact and the socket contact, whereby there is a concern that reliable electrical conduction cannot be established.
Accordingly, JP 10-503319A, for example, discloses a socket contact in which a pair of beams 2 facing each other extend downward from the upper end of a box-shaped contact main body 1, a spring piece 3 extends upward from the lower end of each of the beams 2 and a spring contact point 4 is formed in the vicinity of the upper end of the spring piece 3, while the lower ends of the pair of beams 2 are respectively bent in opposite directions, and the tip ends of the bent lower ends of the beams 2 are respectively provided with displacement regulators 5, as illustrated in FIG. 11.
When the counter-connector contact is inserted into the contact main body 1 along the fitting plane C1, the counter-connector contact comes into contact with the spring contact points 4 while elastically deforming the spring pieces 3. At this time, the beams 2 also elastically shift, but as the displacement regulators 5 provided at the lower ends of the beams 2 abut an inner wall 6 of the contact main body 1, the beams 2 are prevented from further shifting.
Accordingly, even if the counter-connector contact is inserted off the fitting plane C1 or inserted obliquely with respect to the fitting plane C1, the displacement regulators 5 abut the inner wall 6 of the contact main body 1 such that the lower ends of the beams 2 are prevented from further shifting, whereby the position of the counter-connector contact is corrected.
However, since each of the spring pieces 3 extends upward from the lower end of each of the beams 2, the spring contact point 4 formed on the spring piece 3 is located in the vicinity of the upper end of the beam 2, whereas each of the displacement regulators 5 is formed at the lower end of the beam 2. In other words, because the spring contact point 4 and the displacement regulator 5 are located apart from each other in the fitting direction, the position of the counter-connector contact is corrected at the lower end of the beam 2 where the displacement regulator 5 is formed but can largely deviate from the fitting plane C1 in the vicinity of the upper end of the beam 2 where the spring contact point 4 is located.
If the position of the counter-connector contact largely deviates from the fitting plane C1 in the vicinity of the upper end of the beam 2, the contact state of the counter-connector contact with the pair of spring contact points 4 would be significantly uneven; one of the spring contact points 4 would shift so much that the corresponding spring piece 3 would easily plastically deform, and the other spring contact point 4 would be separated from the counter-connector contact and possibly result in contact failure. Hence, a problem that the reliable electrical conduction is impaired would arise.